Story. A San Miguel woman gets on the trolley, listens to the guides and this is what happened…

Published March 26, 2021 (sp)

Carmen is from San Miguel de Allende and one day she planned to get on one of those trollies to find out what they tell tourists about San Miguel de Allende.

The day came and here she tells us what happened to her on the same tour that tourists take through the city, accompanied by a “guide” who takes them to buy the candy they bring from San Juan de los Lagos and even mezcal from Dolores Hidalgo CIN.

Here is her story:

I am Carmen, born in San Miguel de Allende. For a long time I was curious to get on the trams to get to know a little more of my town, but after having done so I am disappointed, angry and annoyed at how the guide (I will omit his name), knows nothing about the city.

The San Miguel they sell is not at all the town my grandparents told me about, they mention many things that are not even relevant to the real history of San Miguel, leaving aside the traditions.

When I arrived at the Mirador I was shocked by the ‘mafia’ that the merchants have there, where they miss what is typical of San Miguel. I was moved to see how the handicrafts of San Miguel, which are a representative part of the city, are not taken into account, something that the guide does not even know, since he told me that the handicrafts were not made here and were brought from many places.

It is sad to see how people are handled like ‘sheep’ and put into businesses to offer them products that are not typical of here, such as sweets brought from San Juan de los Lagos, mezcal from Dolores Hidalgo and some supposed little jars that they say are ‘typical’.”

In short, it is sad to see how San Miguel is deteriorating and losing its identity in the hands of San Miguel locals, who take advantage of it to do business.

And that’s not all, I was even more surprised, because when I investigated more about the streetcars, I realized that they belong to private companies that besides deteriorating the streets, disturbing the traffic due to the large dimensions and deteriorating the history, they do business as a result of tourism and telling what it is not.

The reflection is that they are destroying San Miguel, what is typical of this beautiful town is being lost; today its traditions, crafts and history are “brought from outside” leaving aside that San Miguel of ours, which was recognized in the world for everything it preserved and cared for.

San Miguel de Allende has been stripped of the essence of what generations have achieved so that people without knowledge come to deteriorate the essence of my town. I hope the Tourism authorities can put a stop and check what is happening in the tourism field, with special emphasis on the streetcars, since it is the first direct contact that the tourist has.

Thank you.